I used to watch college basketball. But it’s been years since I’ve cared — this year was something like the fifth or sixth in a row in which I went out of my way not to watch the final game.
The reasons: Well, players moving on after a year makes the NCAA hard to stay on top of. But I can’t fault kids who come from nothing when the promise of a whole lot of cash is put in front of them.
The real reason is that the coaches play the role of college basketball superstar, making obscene money and signing shoe endorsements and reaping the kudos.
And, as Joe Nocera pointed out yesterday, they also get off far more easily than players who violate rules — proving that the players are the disposable commodities in the NCAA.
Consider this year’s final four: Two of the coaches have been sanctioned — the winning coach, Jim Calhoun, was sanctioned for violations this year while Kentucky coach John Calipari has had controversy follow him throughout his team-hopping career. The players, however, get dumped on and often see their career prospects end.
The NCAA says it is about amateur student athletes; that’s BS. It is, like the professional leagues, greed-driven. But at least the players in the NBA get paid for their services.
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- Read poetry at The Subterranean.
- Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
- Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.
Hank Kalet 